[Drama 2018] Life on Mars, 라이프 온 마스

[Prettysup]

I am watching this too! Love it !!

[staygold]

13 hours ago, bedifferent said:

 @staygold are you watching by any chance? any thought?

 

Yes, I am watching it Bedifferent. I am totally for the David Lynch meets Twilight Zone in Kdramaland!  I am starting to believe HTJ has been transported back to 80s and he also lies comatose in present times. The bar tender/coffee shop owner,  Dr Jang and the serial killer know something more than the rest of the characters. Miss Yoon is innocent just like the rest of the 80s cop team. This is all I could grasp in 3 episodes. 

[crazyyo]

6 hours ago, cafe99 said:

 

Tae Joo is repeating the same mistakes he made in 2018: letting criminals escape because technicalities and loopholes. Although, it is true that is ok for Tae Joo to follow the law by the book because innocent people could be convicted if an investigation is not conducted correctly and within the law, I kind of understand Dong Cheol's point of view too... his eagerness to imprison the people who he/everyboby knows that they are clearly guilty but they can't get them behind bars since there is not enough evidence... it must be frustrating to know that someone committed a crime and not be able to imprison him for it.

 

While I do agree that it must be frustrating to let the criminal go I don't think they should temper with evidence. Someone innocent might end up in jail just because they were too confident that he is the criminal. However I do believe Tae Jo lets everyone go without any plan of what to do next. If you are letting a criminal go at least let some detectives spy on him. No? 

 

 

Life on mars ep 3 recap 

https://k-byeol.com/2018/06/17/life-on-mars-episode-3/

[Guest]

I have yet to watch eps 3 , but checked out some cuts for eps 4. This scene in particular was really interesting. Tae Joo sees two women arguing at the police station & realises the one in green suit looks familiar . He ask her for her name & realises it’s his mum. Later he starts searching for her & ends up in her saloon . But he sees his mini self, then he starts to remember what he witness at that time - running away from a murder scene where he saw a woman being killed & she had manicure done. Adult Tae Joo faints 

 

Ratings up! 

Preview for next week 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

In Episode 3 we see that the Magic Doctor in Episode 2 turns out not to be all that magical after all... he's a shrink of sorts that Yoon Na Young knows, trying to get a rise out of TJ leading him to do a near swan dive off the roof. That's why there was no Seo Hyun. The Magic Chief Inspector makes another appearance but isn't content to stay in the telly. He walks out of the boob tube into full technicolour and becomes TJ's meditation coach. Or does he? Is it merely a dream... within a dream? It's hard to say. One minute he's asleep, then he wakes, then he sees odd things, then he wakes up in sweating profusely. He can't ring through the public phone but it rings long enough for him to pick up and hear conversation related to his current medical condition. From the voices echoing around him, it does sound like he's comatose. There's undoubtedly an Alice in Wonderland feel to many of the "visions" with his much younger self acting like the White Rabbit leading him on some kind of labyrinth through his memories. At the end of Episode 4, we get a much clearer picture of that memory that he has long repressed. It's still fragmented but we now know that he was witness to a murder at the tender age of six.

 

As for the rest of Episode 4 it wasn't hard to pick up from all the little bits and pieces that the village chief was molesting the young girl. Mother and child were as one would suspect, protecting each other. At first I imagined all kinds of terrible things such as a Chinatown scenario in play but thankfully, the show chose not to go down that road. What we did have was not a lot better but... a macabre case of an intra-family serial murder.

 

I am surprised at the number of reporters at every scene related to the village murder. Slow news day... perhaps. Hopefully it's because murders are rare that there's an inordinate amount of interest by the press even for matters out in the regional areas.  

 

The thing I'm missing most from this show is JKH's smile. Hope it makes an appearance soon. Much as I love the drama, it is depressing seeing a depressed HTJ walking around second guessing himself constantly, frustrated with how things are done in his new environment. It's true that his confidence has taken a nosedive in recent days having to navigate through the unfamiliar. It's undoubtedly a thankless role he has to play to question his colleagues's conclusions and be the voice of reason when often it is a unwelcomed position. It's bad enough that he doesn't want to be there, doesn't know why he's stuck in that alien environment but to have to constantly battle with his colleagues who don't trust his instincts whose propensity is to wrap things up quickly, it must be mentally exhausting.

 

There's certainly some progress in his relationship with DC, as there's some grudging respect on both sides that's beginning to take root. It helps that DC does care about solving the crimes and it isn't all about posturing. The public bath scene and post-bath scene were chuckle worthy and PSW plays it up for whatever it's worth. Another funny moment saw DC at the suspect's home trying her kimchi after Nam Shik's comment that rather than taking everyone's fingerprints, every family's kimchi is a bit different and that's a more effective way to track down the perpetrator.

 

The show even managed to squeeze in a bit of social commentary at the end. Despite the appearance of normality in the village chief's family life, it was clearly dysfunctional to the core. In the end, it was the family of a single mother and her little girl that was the most cohesive of the two. The irony was that the ostracised family was more exemplary in their love for each other other than the family of that community's leader.

 

 

@triplem One of the women in the alteracation at the station is TJ's aunt. Most likely his father's sister... she's a SK version of an Avon lady, I think.

 

@crazyyo and @cafe99

In the case of KMS... it's not technically his case so the decision to have someone track his movements should be the prosecutor's call. When he says "I let him go." It's more out of a sense of guilt than anything else. His job at the trial was to give evidence and explain the evidence. The decision to release KMS is the court's judgment to make.

 

With regard to the pickpocket muggings, hindsight is a wonderful thing but just knowing that someone is guilty isn't enough to condemn a person otherwise anyone can be arrested and innocent people can be dragged off at the whim of over zealous cops. It can be frustrating but the system needs to be such that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

 

It's clear that the show is trying to present both sides of the argument but there are no easy answers. 

[RinVyal]

On 6/17/2018 at 6:35 AM, 40somethingahjumma said:

As someone who has seen the BBC series, I am enjoying so much how they're remaking the individual cases. Of course it's inevitable that I compare but K version is more than standing up to scrutiny at the moment. They're certainly not identical although this one's taking its cues from the original. For me I think,  it's the socio-historical side of things that feel so well-thought out. "God is in the details" and that's true here. Even when they're running down alley ways past shops and markets I'm gripped by a certain nostalgia for a childhood spent in SE Asia.

 

I think the cases have to be "customized" to fit the Korean reality of the 1980s, because the original Life on Mars leaned heavily on its idiosyncratic 1970s Manchester setting, incorporating some social issues inherent to the North of England, not even England or the UK itself as a whole, like episodes revolving around the textile factory (the North was an industrial hub) or the Manchester United vs. Manchester City fan conflict. As you say, it's cool to see how the screenwriter takes general cues from the episode plotlines of the original and adjusts them to the Korean reality of the time. That's basically what a good remake should be: not a mere imitation, but a new spin on the original. 

[Blizzardistkaputt]

I wasn't too enthusiastic when I learnt that it's a time-travel genre and I was expecting an OCN bloody mess. But this drama is hilarious. DC and TJ remind me of  Park Sung Woong's Man to Man. 

 

Whatever the case, i hope that smart rose among the thorns stays alive in this series.

[Hannahmiriam]

Was I the only one who thought at Jung Kyung Ho's old drama, "Smile, You", every time Choi Boon Am came into the frame? For a moment I did not hear Chief Inspector, but Kang Man Bok saying: "I'm here to help you". 

[40somethingahjumma]

Geeking out over retro stuff as featured in Life on Mars...

 

 

My father had one of those contraptions in the 80s. He had dozens and dozens of spools to go along with it. I'm not sure why it's sitting in DC's office. He doesn't seem to be all that tech oriented but I totally geeked out at that moment. Brought back memories.

 

Comment on this scene:

 

 

I totally dug the soundtrack in this scene... It had a nice Henri Mancini style theme going on in the background. Not very 80s but Chief Inspector looked like it could be a re-run.

 

[Prettysup]

On 6/17/2018 at 11:38 PM, triplem said:

I have yet to watch eps 3 , but checked out some cuts for eps 4. This scene in particular was really interesting. Tae Joo sees two women arguing at the police station & realises the one in green suit looks familiar . He ask her for her name & realises it’s his mum. Later he starts searching for her & ends up in her saloon . But he sees his mini self, then he starts to remember what he witness at that time - running away from a murder scene where he saw a woman being killed & she had manicure done. Adult Tae Joo faints 

 

 

 

 

No no it was not his mum, it was his aunt, his father's sister

[anjelikaeyes13]

Nice going back to revist 1980’s being a Xennial myself haha! I love the simpleness of life back then. Go Ah Sung character reminds me of what is real intelligent is.  Park Sung Won is becoming a second lead A lister for comedic and but bad richard simmons actor and Jung Kyung Ho never fails me of his acting. He is forever a serious actor and handsome bad richard simmons (see him in Time between Dog and Wolf even he was the second lead.)

 

The story title is not interesting but because I am a fan of Signal and The Bad Cruel City and Go Ah Sung/Jung Kyung Ho I am hooked  hehe. I like the flow and excitement of story. I am curious as Life on Mars have two seasons in BBC studio and I am amazed how Korea is owning the adaptation. Cool Lah! 

[crazyyo]

Recap episode 4

https://k-byeol.com/2018/06/19/life-on-mars-episode-4/

[Guest]

Thanks @40somethingahjumma @Prettysup . So it’s the Aunt ! Anyway I have yet to reach ep 4 . Just got off eps3 & thoroughly enjoyed it . 

 

@40somethingahjumma I’m still a bit confused about the first part of eps3. So was that a dream or a 1988 “reality”? I’m assuming that bit is part of a hynopsis that he is going through. But then later on Yoon asked if he has seen Dr Jang yet. So I’m guessing he hasn’t yet. I’m as confused as Tae Joo   ( And yes I’m missing JKH’s smile ) 

 

I do love the contrasting ways in which TJ & DC handle the cases. While I don’t subscribe  to police brutality, DC’s instincts & experience is usually quite spot on. But in  this episode ,TJ’s insistence at going by the book  to let the thief go actually led them to discover that this is more then just a simple case of pickpocketing/ robbery  . I chuckled when TJ discovered the lies that DC made up about the victim’s Son & Husband . DC is a smart man , he definitely knows how to push TJ’s buttons 

 

My appreciation for Go Ah Sung’s Officer Yoon continues to grow. I love how she seems so timid & submissive, but she really is the MVP of that station. If this was 2018 , she would have been part of. the CSI unit or something.  DC’s & TJ’s expressions when she took down the thief was priceless. 

 

I know this is a crime drama but hmmm a little romance won’t hurt

 

[maddymappo]

Will he  meet his little self?  

48 minutes ago, triplem said:

somethingahjumma I’m still a bit confused about the first part of eps3. So was that a dream or a 1988 “reality”? I’m assuming that bit is part of a hynopsis that he is going through. But then later on Yoon asked if he has seen Dr Jang yet. So I’m guessing he hasn’t yet. I’m as confused as Tae Joo   ( And yes I’m missing JKH’s smile )

I am confused by the part too. It appears that the Dr. does know about his condition, he ran to the building, but not clear if he actually had a session with him or not.  Officer Yoon tells him the diagnosis is that it is being caused by the concussion, but when did the Dr do the analysis, and why not tell HTJ directly?   But I suppose it is all confusion - what is real and unreal, what is in the future and the past.  Is there a past. Will TJ meet his little self?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, maddymappo said:

Will he  meet his little self?  

I am confused by the part too. It appears that the Dr. does know about his condition, he ran to the building, but not clear if he actually had a session with him or not.  Officer Yoon tells him the diagnosis is that it is being caused by the concussion, but when did the Dr do the analysis, and why not tell HTJ directly?   But I suppose it is all confusion - what is real and unreal, what is in the future and the past.  Is there a past. Will TJ meet his little self?

The part that Yoon tells him about the diagnosis & then later on ask him if he’s seen Dr jang really confused me .  so did the whole roof top scene even happen ? Hopefully I’ll get more answers in eps4. I like how it boggles my mind 

————

MOVIES

K-Drama Premiere: “Life On Mars” Surprises With Subconscious Dimension Navigation In Retro Setting

By abbyinhallyuland | June 15, 2018

JUNG KYUNG HO AND PARK SUNG WOONG EXPECTEDLY DID A GREAT JOB TO SHOWCASE THEIR NEWEST FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, AS A FEW MYSTERIOUS STORY DETAILS ARE TO BE UNHINGED ON THE LATEST CRIME DRAMA, LIFE ON MARS.

A remake of a British television series, the newest OCN retro investigative crime drama is reminiscent of the cable channel’s hit 2017 crime thriller Tunnel, which depicts the tale of a police officer from the past, who time-traveled to the modern times.

Life on Mars takes the same feel but different approach by sending a detective with the year set in 1988 after he is fatally wounded while chasing a serial killer who kidnapped his ex-fiancee.

Initially, we thought the new series is another time slip spectacle, but the hero appears trapped in his subconscious thoughts which is set in 1988.

Jung Kyung Ho (Prison Playbook) suits up for the detective, who gains an infamous reputation as a self-righteous whistle-blower among the police organization he belongs with.

Park Sung Woong (Man To Man) takes the old school police team leader character, who partners with the detective of strange knowledge and skills.

Go Ah Sung plays the timid female officer, who ends up doing office chores assigned by the male police team that does the field work.

( I did not paste the recap. More can be read here : https://www.hellokpop.com/tv-movies/k-drama-premiere-life-on-mars/) 

PILOT WEEK VERDICT

Trapped in a subconscious dimension set in 1988 baits anyone who likes interesting premise. The tricky pretext will score impeccable results if the plot bends and surprises match coherently.

Life on Mars has a tendency to slip to a crazy level because of its scenario, so hopefully the story remains sane as it unfolds. We are looking forward to how the hero’s mind drift will connect to the serial killer chase he is trying to solve in the present time.

We will do mid-series check on dramas we cover – so we will catch up with Tae Joo and Dong Chul again after eight episodes if our first impression of this drama will be a lasting one.

[40somethingahjumma]

@triplem and @maddymappo

 

According to Na Young, Dr Jang (aka the Magic Doctor) is a shrink that she knows and she told him all about TJ's "condition". We find out in Episode 3 that Dr Jang was testing him in Episode 2 by telling him that it was all in his head and that Seo Hyun (the ex) was with him. He was probably trying to push TJ's buttons for a diagnosis but unfortunately TJ took the whole "it's an illusion" line seriously and thought that if he took a swan dive off the building he would recover from his coma. So the man in the car park telling him not to jump is that same Dr Jang. 

 

Whether or not TJ actually went to consult Dr Jang later as he claimed, I'm less sure. He could have been lying... just from the way he answered her reluctantly and quickly.

 

At this stage it's hard to say what is real and what is a dream or memories or something else.  If you thought that was a mind bender, wait till you get to Episode 4.  It's just best to assume that Dr Jang is real to 1988 for now until we're told otherwise. 

 

@triplem I don't doubt DC's intelligence for one moment. It's his propensity to simplify and shortcut everything that's worrying. On some level we give him a pass because his heart is in the right place but honestly, it leads to all kinds of problems when one tries to put a man behind bars without the proper process and evidence. What if the cop in charge wasn't as caring as DC... it's problematic and leads to all kinds of abuse.

 

About NY and TJ

Spoiler

I am fully expecting romance to bloom in this one.

 

Methinks someone needs to make a gif out of Miss Judo Yoon.

 

 

[larus]

Life on Mars: Episode 3

by Helcat

 

Sometimes it can feel like the whole world is out to get you—but when you’re stuck in a nightmare past, maybe the whole world really does have it in for you. Tae-joo spends the episode trying to adjust to his new surroundings, with varying degrees of failure. Adrift, he still doesn’t know whom to trust or who knows what—but one thing he does have is sweet Na-young there to help him through the worst of it.

http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/06/life-on-mars-episode-3/

[Guest]

7 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

don't doubt DC's intelligence for one moment. It's his propensity to simplify and shortcut everything that's worrying. On some level we give him a pass because his heart is in the right place but honestly, it leads to all kinds of problems when one tries to put a man behind bars without the proper process and evidence. What if the cop in charge wasn't as caring as DC... it's problematic and leads to all kinds of abuse.

You are right. Actually, I must retract my statement about DC's intuition being right most of the time because it obviously wasn't in episode 4. Was he being lazy and just wanting to quickly close the case? Is he being arrogant , thinking he knows it all?  If not for Tae Joo's insistence & instincts that something was not right, they would have put an innocent woman behind bars and the real killer will go scott free.  

I will definitely gif that scene later.  

 

The romance is gonna blossom. Na Young was so pleased to be served coffee and to watch a man wash his own cup! And he's also been very impressed with her kindness , attention to detail and work ethic. Whoopeee!

 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

47 minutes ago, triplem said:

You are right. Actually, I must retract my statement about DC's intuition being right most of the time because it obviously wasn't in episode 4. Was he being lazy and just wanting to quickly close the case? Is he being arrogant , thinking he knows it all?  If not for Tae Joo's insistence & instincts that something was not right, they would have put an innocent woman behind bars and the real killer will go scott free.  

I will definitely gif that scene later.  

 

 

Intuition is fine on a certain level. There's nothing magical about intuition. It's mostly about sensitivity to one's surroundings, the people in it and experience. It can aid in investigation... to cause one to probe more deeply along certain lines of inquiry but it's definitely not enough to convict a person ie. change another person's life completely just based on a cop's intuition, no matter how experienced he/she might be.

 

The problem with DC isn't the police brutality per se, it's that he thinks he can circumvent the law to get a result. He becomes a law unto himself. I understand why he's in a hurry... the quicker they catch the perps, the safer the streets will be... that's probably why he thinks a good pummelling is effective. This tactic might be effective with some if they actually know something. But what if the suspect really knows nothing and it's just that his /her mannerisms just don't sit right with those observing them? The result there is someone innocent getting hurt.

 

So rushing things can lead to wrong results as we saw in Episode 4. People also get hurt. The real perp almost goes scot free. Another person almost gets killed. If TJ and NY hadn't stepped in, things could have been different. Public confidence in the police force would be undermined.  Etc etc...

[40somethingahjumma]

@stargazer187

The way I cope with all the mind bending oddities of Life on Mars is to see them as a result of the interplay between TJ's unconscious mind and memories -- vivid and suppressed. (At least on some basic level) As he's battling to survive physiologically, all his emotional baggage that's been in the background comes to the forefront because he can't escape his own heart and mind. Are they merely dreams? Are the characters that pop up from time to time just figments of his imagination to help him cope with being in a coma? It's hard to say.

 

Of course none of this yet explains why DC, YG, NS and NY are in his 1988 reality although I think after Episode 4, we have some inkling as to why his mind at least seems to be in 1988.